Jill Kerttula’s fiber art is the culmination of her years of professional art experience, combined with her avocations of sewing and photography. Kerttula was a professional graphic designer and art director; she taught college-level art and design classes; as an art major, she specialized in printmaking.
In 2014, she retired from commercial design work and moved to Virginia. It was then she started using larger-scale digital images printed on fabric and working full-time as a fine artist. Her work has received many awards in international and national shows. In 2015, Kerttula spent a month as the Artist-in-Residence at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In 2018, she was one of two international artists chosen to present a solo show as a ‘Rising Star’ at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. She also had a solo show at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Quilts in 2018. In 2019 and 2021, she was juried into the prestigious international ‘Quilt National’ biennial show.
In 2021 She won the "Innovation in Artistry" award at the Houston International Quilt Festival and the International Quilt Museum's “Award of Excellence” at the Quilt National biennial show. In 2023 She won the “Unique Voice” award in The Visions Museum of Textile Art, San Diego, CA, and a third place award in the Houston International Quilt Festival.
Most recently her piece “Just Thinking” was invited to be exhibited in the Taiwan Art Quilt Society’s International Art Quilt Exhibit 2024.
Her fiber-based works explore her love of texture and use both conventional and unconventional quilting materials. This same love of texture can also be seen in her new ceramic work. Kerttula started working in ceramics a few years ago and continues to evolve in that media. She is now exploring how to unite fiber and ceramics together.
